straight and narrow
Americannoun
noun
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Etymology
Origin of straight and narrow
First recorded in 1945–50
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s a hint to think about the risks of straying from the straight and narrow, and the hellfire that comes with a slip.
From Los Angeles Times
In those days, the manager not only kept the players on the straight and narrow, but also acted as a figurehead.
From BBC
Rashford has taken a significant stride on that road to redemption - now can he use the Barcelona stage to finally put his career back on the straight and narrow?
From BBC
He’s such a good guy, and we’re both on the straight and narrow.
From Los Angeles Times
Nothing like a close call, a brush with doom, to scare you into staying on the straight and narrow.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
